HeadHardHat's Award Winning Geocaching Blog is a geocache treasure trove of geocaching information. Years of searchable geocaching insights await you here. HeadHardHat's GeoSnippits Geocaching Videos series can be seen on You Tube. You can also find him on his new GeoSnippits Reboot Podcast series and the Geocaching Podcast. Geocaching the outdoor treasure-hunting game which the participants use a GPS receiver to hide and seek containers called "geocaches" or "caches" anywhere in the world

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

A little while back I noticed that Geocaching.com's blog Latitude 47 posted a request for geocachers to send in a 20 second video showing why we liked geocaching. In return they would put together a short video using some of the clips from those videos for their final showing "The Geocaching Year In Review". Just for kicks I put together some of my favorites of the year which included a segment from our NCGO 10th Anniversary event. This is the segment they chose to include in the video. We are at the 1:55 or so point. Don't blink but I am rather pleased we made it in.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Recorded on 12/29/2010 Join us for a shoot out at the historic Knot Hole Bar in down town Comins. The day is saved by Cowboy look a likes from the Old West featuring the Cagle Brothers, John Phipps, & Bob Wallace aka Rooster Cogburn, Matt Dillon, Lone Ranger, Tonto, & Lash La Rue. Also HHH Andy Smith reviews the new Gps Blackstar application for the Blackberry + much more!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Yeppers, the holidays are winding down and you received a GPS as a present. Way cool but now what?

Automobile GPSr
For many a GPSr (Global Positioning System Receiver) comes in the form of a device you may very well use for your automobile. Today's units are very intuitive. Put in an address or a Point Of Interest like the nearest fast food restaurant and suddenly you are on your way. They are so good now a days that they can direct you through traffic by missing the busy roads depending on the current automobile flow. Need the current weather for your road trip? No problem. Want the best prices from the gas pump? They can do that. The point is if you need to get from point A to point B an automobile GPS can get you there.

Did you know you can use it also for geocaching? Read on.

Smart Phone GPSr
With a few exceptions most smart phones now come with GPS technology built in. In other words the same type of information an automobile GPSr can receive may also be available on your new phone. Depending on the model you may already have apps or programs that can show your location on a map. For example Google Maps a well known application even has turn by turn instructions. I was amazed recently when using it that not only did it get me to my destination but as I drove up it actually showed a photo of the house I was trying to find. So right off the bat a smart phone is an amazing piece of technology.

Did you know you can use it also for geocaching? Read on. Just a little bit more.

Handheld GPSr
Ah the staple of the everyday geocacher, an actual handheld GPSr unit. A beauty to behold. Handheld GPSr units are made for being outside. They are rugged, water resistant (not proof), have a long battery life and can
get you there and back again just about anywhere on the planet. If you are outside with either an automobile GPSr or smart phone they are at the mercy of the elements. A handheld is made to take it.

Most handheld GPSr units come with a standard map for good point of reference. They do not always come with maps that you can use for turn by turn directions. This means that it will show you what road you are on (if you are on a road) but it can't give you step by step like an automobile unit can. What do people use Handheld GPSr units for? Tons of things actually, hiking, trail blazing, biking, etc. Just about anything you can do outside that puts you in a situation you don't want to get lost or need to find a specific place on a map.

Want to know what all of these GPSr units can be used for? Geocaching!
What's geocaching you say? Geocaching is a game, sport and for some obsession where you go out and find well hidden containers called "geocaches". The geocaches are hidden all around the world, literally over a million of them sprinkled across the planet. There are most likely some right near you right now and you didn't even know they are there. Geocachers use GPSr units like the ones I just described to find these geocaches. Which means if you did just get a GPSr for the holidays - You can go geocaching!

This post is to go over the high points about different GPSr units in general and if you like millions of other geocachers want to learn more about geocaching here are some links to tons of information you can read up about. You will find them very useful and before you know it will be out finding your first ones. Enjoy.

Geocaching.com
The main hub of the geocaching world. Sign up and get all the coordinates you want for finding geocaches.

HeadHardHat's Award Winning Geocaching Blog - Geocache: I'm Not Obsessed... Right?
Here is years of searchable information about geocaching right at your fingertips. Not only do you get all my tips, tricks and techniques but access to my famous GeoSnippits geocaching videos as well. A must see.

GeoSnippits Geocaching Videos
There are dozens of very informative geocaching videos made for geocachers about geocaching. Tons of information on what geocaching is, tips, reviews, and real life examples of how to enjoy geocaching as a whole. Highly recommended for all geocachers to check these videos before venturing out.

So there you have it. Some examples of the different types of GPSr units you may have received this year for the holiday. They are amazing technologies and can be fun to use for an amazing activity like geocaching as well.

Recorded on 12/22/2010 Join us as we visit Henry and Clara's beloved home Ford Fair Lane Estate for a tradition that Clara started decades ago SANTA'S WORK SHOP! Then Andy, Head Hard Hat, Smith welcomes Geocaching Podcasters, CACHE-A-MANIACS to this week's GEOSNIPPITS!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Yeppers, it's true. Our GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right? blog has been nominated for the 2011 Retrevo Awards for GPS information. We won the 2010 award last year and now going for two years in a row. How can you help? Vote for us! Simply click either the graphic or link below and that's it. Your vote is cast and you are done. No muss, fuss or forms to fill out. Just click and you are done.

You can vote once a day until January 24, 2010 but ONLY once a day. So please vote often.
We are very grateful for our viewers and fans. We greatly appreciate your support!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Over the past week we were celebrating our new web sponsor GeoSurvivalGear.com by having a contest to see if you our wonderful viewers could find me (HeadHardHat) in a photo entitled "Where's HeadHardHat?".

We had tons of responses with the majority of guesses going either to a shot of my brother Scott, the creepy looking guy in the upper left of the photo, my brother David in the bottom left of the photo or a geocacher where you can't see his face but is wearing a white hat. Nice try but I was hiding inside of a car shown below.

You Found HeadHardHat

Out of the qualifying entries that did find the real me. The winner chosen randomly from the depths of my GeoSnippits hat is........drum roll..................... Preston Laughinghouse (cymbal clash).

Preston will be receiving the very cool King Cobra survival wrist band from GeoSurvivalGear.com and we will be contacting him today. Congrats Preston.

Much More GeoSurvival.com Gear Contests To Come

Oh and don't fret if you didn't win this time. We literally have a whole box of GeoSurvivalGear.com products we will be giving away soon. In fact our next contest will start right after the first of the year so keep checking in to our blog here, follow me on twitter (@headhardhat) or friend me on Facebook to be the first at our next contest.

Be sure to check out GeoSurvivalGear.com's website and see all their amazing geocaching products.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Well this should be the last GeoSnippits of 2010. I am going to be taking some time off to enjoy the holidays.

Below is a GeoBasics video which is intended for the absolute beginner but I know you enjoy my videos so feel free to watch anyways :) Today's episode is to help show how to find a geocache when you reach ground zero. It is focused on wooded geocaches this time. We will do an urban one soon.

In the video you will see some tips and techniques of looking once you are close to ground zero, tips of different areas to look in the woods and helpful suggestions to keep you safe.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I obviously can't speak for everybody but for me a poorly placed geocache can really tick me off. I'm not talking how the geocache is placed. Everybody has the right to place a geocache the way they see fit. No, I am talking about where they place a geocache especially when it comes to areas that the hider either did not get permission to place or when they are placed on no trespassing property.

In today's case the hider only had twenty finds under their belt and placed two new geocaches on a privately owned hunting reserve land.. The sign to the left was .15 of a mile from the geocache. The geocache itself was about 50 feet from a tree hunting blind. This simply could be a case of not doing your homework before placing but I am really thinking there should be a geocaching guideline stating you should not place a geocache until you reach a certain amount of geocaching finds first. Call me crazy but after say 100 geocaching finds you gain a good geocache sense. Knowing the difference between a good or poor placement.

Recorded on 12/15/2010 We visit with the Fly Fishin Folk Singer Alayn Cayn at the historic North Branch Outing club near Lovells Michigan. This State and National Historic site was a favorite "fly fishing" retreat for Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Blackstone & other historic fiqures. Owner Todd Fuller gives us a tour.

Then HHH Andy Smith takes us to the 2010 NCGO Fall Fling where we meet more Geocachers then you can shake a stick at.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

I get tons of emails from fans, viewers and a few critics every day. I love feedback because good, bad or indifferent it tells me what our fans want to know. Every once in a while I receive an email like the one below. I try not to toot my own horn, that much, yet it makes me feel unbelievably great after reading things like this:

Subject: You brought my family back together!

"Hello,

Just wanted to say a very big thanks for your videos (posted to YouTube). I discovered Geo Caching after buying a Garmin 1390lmt (not Geo Cache friendly :) ) and it turns out the kids love it. We are getting a Garmin 60csx just for doing these trips and your videos have been a central part of getting everyone in the family psyched AND educated on the in and out of the sport. Thanks again for having such an outstanding positive impact on our family. Your awesome!"

You are most welcome and thanks for brightening my day...

Every time I wonder if I am making an impact on the geocaching community I get wonderful things like this. Just wanted to share.

Monday, December 13, 2010

We have a whole box full of goodies from GeoSurvivalGear.com that we will be giving away as prizes. To do that we are having the first of many contests. Are you ready to play? Great cuz here we go.

Our first contest is going to be "Where is HeadHardHat?".

Look at the picture below, click it or download it to get even closer. HeadHardHat is somewhere in this picture of different geocaching events. Your job is to circle onlyHeadHardHat by using your favorite paint program and then email your answer to headhardhat@gmail.com put the subject as Where is HeadHardHat Contest. Don't forget to include the following:

Your Name
Your Email Address
Your Phone Number
and the photo with Only HeadHardHat circled.

Where is HeadHardHat?

A random winner will be selected from all the correctly identified photos on December 19th, 2010.

The prize from the Where is HeadHardHat contest will be a really fine King Cobra design survival wrist band.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

This week on Michigan Magazine TV - Recorded on 12/8/2010 Michigan Magazine visits the 17th annual Pioneer Power Antique Tractor & Gas Engine Club Show in West Branch Michigan. Then our Geosnippits w/ Andy, Head Hard Hat, Smith takes us to a Geocaching Flash Mob Event!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

One of the most important factors that promote growth of a service, product, company, etc. is a good ole fashioned dose of competition. Geocaching has been around for years in a multitude of forms. I think it is safe to say that Groundspeak and Geocaching.com have taken it to a high level of awareness with the populous of the world and that is a good thing. Yet when there is only one major contributor it can become stagnant without something pushing it forward.

Now OpenCaching.com has added it's geocaching opportunities to the mix. Granted it is currently in Beta which by definition means it is available for use but still not all of the kinks are worked out. It does give the geocacher a chance to expand geocaching in a new direction. This is also a good thing.

Currently you can become a user which is a free membership. You can import all of your hides and finds via .gpx file directly into the site. Note it does not work if you try to load the .zip format. You have to actually extract it first. Finally after you load your hides there is an approval process to confirm your hide information before it actually becomes active. If you are like me and have a bunch it is going to take a while before they are all available to the public.

I worked with the OpenCaching site today and found quite a few issues. Again it is in beta. Some of the main ones is a real lack of error checking and messages for each of the fields you interact with. For example you could be on a page with multiple fields and if one of the fields has invalid data all you get is a message that says Error - Try again. It doesn't tell you what the error is or which field has the issue. One of the errors was when you have too many characters describing you as a geocacher but it won't let you update the information and you just get the same error message. Gets a bit frustrating until they work it out.

The other thing I found interesting is that there are only three types of geocache types. Traditional, Puzzle or Multi. I am really hoping other known or unknown caches added to the list in the future.

Finally let's talk about Garmin. Garmin apparently owns OpenCaching.com, you can see it at the base of the website. That being said you do not see Garmin pushing it's products anywhere including when it talks about geocaching and GPS units. It does allow you to acknowledge that you are using a Chirp unit with a particular geocache but that is about it. Will that change down the road who knows but not for right now.

I am very excited for how this may effect geocaching and where it can actually go in the future. This in my book is a very good thing. Time will tell.

Monday, December 6, 2010

If you read my geocaching based posts or watch our GeoSnippits videos you will many times see me holding a BlackBerry Curve 8310 smartphone. I have used and abused that phone for over two years now. For me it was the center of my electronic life. Not only only could I use Geocache Navigator for some very accurate and real time geocaching but most of my Social Networking was used with it as well. Sure there were drawbacks like having to pull the battery out of the phone every few days otherwise it would lock up. That sort of thing. All in all it kept me electronically "connected" with the world. That was then this is now.

I have been watching the greener pastures of Iphones and Droids for quite a while now. Waiting for the opportunity to get just the right combination of camera, Internet, GPS and hyper-drive capabilities. Then with the sound of knocking rattling my brain I was able to get an HTC Incredible Android Smartphone. For Free to boot. My original contract had expired a while ago so I was able to get the phone on a special rate provided by a rather popular electronics store. Sweet!

This is where the geekiness goes into overdrive. I have been a geek since Pong. I have been there when Atari was king and an 8088 computer had a 10 Mhz turbo mode. I hooked up my stereo directly into my computer system before there was something known a sound card. Watched every advance in PC computer gaming since the original joystick. Spent up to $5000 on one once to have the ultimate gaming system. My daughter calls it our junk computer now. Anyhow I have not had my geek button pushed like with this new phone since the days back the gaming world was finding it's niche.

Seen above with a gel cover just like HHH's

This incredible Incredible gave me my first WOW factor right about the time I turned it on. I unlocked the screen with the swipe of my finger and it was like watching the opening of a stage play. It illuminated, immediately told me the time and weather and behind the partly cloudy sun a drape of background clouds parted reveling the actual wallpaper scene behind them. Wow.

Comparatively speaking, this phone is a rocket against the BlackBerry's old grey mare. The phone's build in features are amazing. 8 Gig of initial memory, 1Ghz processor, 8 Mp camera, oh and don't forget the hyper-drive.

Then there are the apps, TONS of apps, mountains of apps with a boat load that come already with the phone. Go to the Android or Google store and you have a choice of over 100,000 apps at your disposal. I spent three days going through just what I wanted to start with and all except two were FREE. I paid $4.00US for the two I purchased and yes they were games. With all the built in memory it is going to take me some time to fill up this puppy. Even when I do a 16 or 32 gig SD card will set things right. So cool.

WiFi is a life saver for me. I personally live in an area that has poor phone reception. It is in a low area and no matter what carrier I get a bar at best. So when I turned on my wireless WiFi functionality I now can stream video or download files in a flash by bypassing the phone connection and load things right off my router. That opened everything for me with using my phone.

Geocaching apps were definitely on my list as well. The second everyone heard that I now have an Android I was flooded with requests to do reviews on the available geocaching apps. I have C:Geo loaded already and all I can say is WOW. I will be doing a review on it and all the rest A.S.A.P., keep watch on my blog and most likely GeoSnippits videos as well.

So what can I say, I am so hooked on the Incredible. Right down to the Star Trek Tricorder app I am currently playing with to the amazing video quality to the ability to lock the front for a much needed lack of butt dialing. The one draw back that I do need to mention is that currently my carrier does not allow free tethering to my netbook. Not without a rather substantial fee. This is no longer a big deal due to all the things I can already do with my phone but it is my hope that down the line that tethering once again becomes a free service. Oh well you can't have everything.

If you are wondering if getting a smartphone is right for you all I can say is do your research for what is right for you. Be it a BlackBerry, Iphone or Droid. Know what you want and after you make your choice hold on to your potatoes because it is one heck of a fun geeky ride.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Wanted to do a quick shout out to let everybody know that we have a brand spanking new web sponsor for GeoSnippitsand my blog - GeoCache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?. Their name is GeoSurvivalGear.com and they make some of the most amazing para-cord survival items you have ever seen. Everything from very cool wristbands, belts, lanyards and so much more. They are an official distributor of Groundspeak which also includes Geocaching.com and all their spin-offs as well. Which means you get great prices on all the official geocaching swag, collectibles, starter kits, etc. all in one great website.

So what exactly is the "Survival" part about anyway? Great question. Imagine being in that one situation where you are out geocaching, hiking or just plain out and about. Some emergency situation comes up that you need the use of heavy duty string. For example for repairs, tie down, first aid, you get the picture. Having these amazing wearables on you when you least expect it could literally be a life savor. Para-cord is a very heavy duty cord with a million uses and you can even take paracord apart for really fine fibers for those needs as well. Something you will be thankful to have on your or in your pack when you need it.

So please check out GeoSurvivalGear.com's website where you can see all of their products and product information. http://www.geosurvivalgear.com and tell them HeadHardHat sent ya.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

I was sitting in a local establishment today enjoying a warming bowl of soup when another of my random geocaching thoughts came to mind. It regarded what the next big technology for handheld GPSr units and what it may be. Things like better accuracy would be nice but that is already down to 3ft or less now a days. I jokingly thought that it would be easier if we just received that magical GPS chip that all we had to do was plug it in the back of our heads and be done with it. A little futuristic for now but I bet we come up with a workable concept in the not too distant future. What else?

Then it dawned on me that maybe a GPS / Smart Phone crossover would be cool. How about having a handheld GPS unit which is rugged and durable for outdoor use having the ability for limited (or unlimited) internet connectivity? Think of it. One of the best reasons we use geocaching applications on our smart phones is the ability to be anywhere and can pull the nearest geocache to us on a whim. That is key functionality right there.

Why not have that ability on a GPS unit? Simply pull out your GPS handheld, press a button and it automatically shows the nearest X number of geocaches to you. It can plot them on the map and maybe a bare bones description of the geocache you point to. How difficult can this be? There are already auto GPS units out there that have limited internet accessibility why not this? I am sure there are plenty of interesting ways small programs could be incorporated to show "near to you" points of interest besides geocaches that would be useful to hikers, bikers and outdoors related folks. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to go to a state park for example and instantly download all the trails and point of interest right from your GPS? Sure you can do some of this from your computer but to have it built in would be that much better.

What do you think and oh if someone does invent this I want some royalties off of this one, hokay?

For Best In GPS Category

Because GeoCache: I'm Not Obsessed, Right? was one of the best blogs this year in the GPS category, you've won a 2011 Golden Retrevo Award for outstanding feats in independent gadget and tech blogging!

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About The HeadHardHat

HeadHardHat's Award Winning Geocaching Blog "Geocache: I'm NOT Obsessed... Right?" is a geocache treasure trove of geocaching information. HeadHardHat's GeoSnippits Geocaching Videos can be seen on You Tube and Michigan Magazine TV (RFDTV). HHH is now Host of Internet TV show Geocaching World (RVNN.tv) and also Co-Host on the Geocaching Podcast. Geocaching the outdoor treasure-hunting game which the participants use a GPS receiver to hide and seek containers called "geocaches" or "caches" anywhere in the world. Follow HeadHardHat as he ventures into the world of geocaching and brings his knowledge, tips and experiences to you. Andy has been obsessed with geocaching since early 2008. To date he has found caches in North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Michigan. HeadHardHat is frequently asked to do reviews and GeoSnippits videos on geocaching related applications and hardware. His geocaching tutorial series GeoSnippits is now featured on several company web sites and is featured on Michigan Magazine Television. To read his blogs or view his GeoSnippits Geocaching Tutorial Videos, GOOGLE headhardhat blog or headhardhat geosnippits.